Nunes explained that the brand deal entails 100 fashion pieces every single month for the next 12 months, with House of One having its own shopfront on Shein\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interestingly, House of One didn\u2019t begin by producing physical clothing at all. The company started out by selling digital patterns only. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe hired talented designers, created full technical packs, and sold PDFs to consumers who wanted to make their own clothes or take them to a local tailor. We didn\u2019t sell a single item of clothing until Shein came along,\u201d said Nunes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brand\u2019s creative approach helped it stand out. House of One launched with designs, storytelling, and cultural expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe created a 12-minute musical film and a four-track EP for our launch. We wanted to entertain people and hook them into the brand journey. That\u2019s what made our content so different,\u201d Nunes explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strategy worked, and Shein discovered the label on Instagram, impressed by both the aesthetic and the way the brand presented itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt first, we thought the email from them was a scam. But once we realised it was legitimate, they told us they loved our designs and the way we told our story,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey said our aesthetic fit what they were looking for, and asked if we\u2019d like to do a collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the opportunity is a breakthrough, Nunes acknowledged the wider debate around fast-fashion retailers like Shein. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t deny the impact. Local industries around the world, not just in South Africa, have raised concerns about being undercut,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I think as local brands, we need to compete on more than just price. It\u2019s about knowing your market, building your brand, and leaning into what makes you unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Million rand collaboration <\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/House-of-One-1-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSome have also questioned why the garments aren\u2019t being manufactured locally. Nunes explained that Shein handles the manufacturing as part of the agreement, and that happens in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut when we were selling patterns, people were making clothes locally with local fabrics and tailors. That\u2019s something we may revisit in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For now, the focus is firmly on making the most of the collaboration. Nunes said Shein has positioned House of One as a \u201cquiet luxury\u201d label on its platform, targeting a slightly older demographic than its usual base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTheir core market is 18 to 25, but they told us our aesthetic appeals more to the 30 to 40 age market, which is new territory for them. It\u2019s exciting to know that our designs could bring in a completely different shopper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
House of One\u2019s creative director, Ronaldo Engelbrecht, leads the design team alongside two colleagues, and together they work closely with Shein\u2019s global trend analysts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey send us monthly reports and even provide us with fabric samples to choose from. That allows us to maintain a certain level of quality control while designing for an international audience,\u201d added Nunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scale of the opportunity is clear. The company is expected to reach around $100,000 (R1.75 million) in sales by the third month. \u201cIf we can hit that, we\u2019ll know the collaboration is heading in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nunes also noted that working with Shein has been seamless. \u201cThey\u2019ve been extremely efficient. No meetings are missed, no deadlines are moved. It\u2019s exactly what you\u2019d expect from the world\u2019s biggest fashion retailer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A local fashion brand has made history by becoming the first South African fashion brand to collaborate with global retail giant Shein.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":835279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[23387,20059,853],"class_list":["post-835249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-house-of-one","tag-shein","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835249"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835299,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835249\/revisions\/835299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSome have also questioned why the garments aren\u2019t being manufactured locally. Nunes explained that Shein handles the manufacturing as part of the agreement, and that happens in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut when we were selling patterns, people were making clothes locally with local fabrics and tailors. That\u2019s something we may revisit in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For now, the focus is firmly on making the most of the collaboration. Nunes said Shein has positioned House of One as a \u201cquiet luxury\u201d label on its platform, targeting a slightly older demographic than its usual base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTheir core market is 18 to 25, but they told us our aesthetic appeals more to the 30 to 40 age market, which is new territory for them. It\u2019s exciting to know that our designs could bring in a completely different shopper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
House of One\u2019s creative director, Ronaldo Engelbrecht, leads the design team alongside two colleagues, and together they work closely with Shein\u2019s global trend analysts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey send us monthly reports and even provide us with fabric samples to choose from. That allows us to maintain a certain level of quality control while designing for an international audience,\u201d added Nunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scale of the opportunity is clear. The company is expected to reach around $100,000 (R1.75 million) in sales by the third month. \u201cIf we can hit that, we\u2019ll know the collaboration is heading in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nunes also noted that working with Shein has been seamless. \u201cThey\u2019ve been extremely efficient. No meetings are missed, no deadlines are moved. It\u2019s exactly what you\u2019d expect from the world\u2019s biggest fashion retailer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A local fashion brand has made history by becoming the first South African fashion brand to collaborate with global retail giant Shein.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":835279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[23387,20059,853],"class_list":["post-835249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-house-of-one","tag-shein","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835249"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835299,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835249\/revisions\/835299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}